Associative PU thickeners (HEUR) with high efficiency and resistance to surfactant addition

HEUR thickeners for coatings, inks and adhesives - the latest developments in the TAFIGEL® PUR range

Today’s formulators are faced with many difficult challenges - whether that be developing products for increasingly demanding applications, or working to meet changing regulatory requirements.  In the pursuit of developing new formulations and refining existing ones, rheological additives are often overlooked - despite playing an important role in the final application properties and in the stability and durability of the finished product.

MÜNZING CHEMIE are a global chemical company specialising in additives and waxes for coatings, inks and adhesives.  In partnership with Lawrence Industries, MÜNZING offer a comprehensive range of additives for the UK and Irish markets. These include the high performance AGITAN® defoamers, EDAPLAN® dispersants, METOLAT® wetting aids and TAFIGEL® rheology modifiers.

Amongst the latest developments in MÜNZING’s TAFIGEL® associative PU thickener range are the newer generation of improved efficiency TAFIGEL® PU thickeners.  Formulators in the UK will already be familiar with products such as TAFIGEL® PUR 40, TAFIGEL® PUR 60 and TAFIGEL® PUR 80. However, this latest generation offers improved efficiency and greater resistance to the interaction with surfactants and other surface active additives. Formulators are now able to utilise three new grades as part of their additive toolbox:

• TAFIGEL® PUR 48 – pseudoplastic.
• TAFIGEL® PUR 64 – strongly pseudoplastic.
• TAFIGEL® PUR 85 – Newtonian.

Improved thickening efficiency with the latest generation of TAFIGEL® PU thickeners

In comparison with existing technologies on the market, the newer TAFIGEL® PU thickeners have been specially modified so that the interaction between binder and thickener is greatly improved.  The newer grades are up to 40% more efficient than competitive associative thickeners, offering excellent cost saving potential (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Viscosity curve of the old HEUR thickener generation vs. some of the newer TAFIGEL® PU thickeners - in a wood coating comprised of a self-crosslinking binder. Much higher efficiencies can be achieved with the latest generation of associative thickener technologies.

Associative HEUR Thickeners with improved resistance to surfactant interaction

In addition to improved efficiency, the newer TAFIGEL® associative thickeners also demonstrate greater resistance to surfactants in the formulation.  With conventional associative thickeners, post-addition of surface-active components, or pigment dispersions, will result in a drop in viscosity - as the surfactants compete with the thickener. MÜNZING CHEMIE’s new TAFIGEL® grades offer increased resistance (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Viscosity shear ramp of a wood coating, both with and without pigment dispersion. TAFIGEL® PUR 64 is one of the newer grades shown to be less sensitive to the addition of surface-active materials.

These newer associative thickeners meet indirect food contact requirements and are APEO-, VOC- and organotin-free. 

Interested? Here’s what to do next

For further information and to discuss your requirements, please call our technical sales team on 01827 314151. See our TAFIGEL® product page for more information and to request a sample online.